Musicians who played Civil War-era instruments in the film 'Lincoln' in Gettysburg, Pa., on Nov. 19 for ceremonies to mark the 149th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's 'Gettysburg Address.'

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The Courier-Journal

Michael Tunnell, right, and Reese Land in Gettysburg, Pa., for ceremonies to mark the 149th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's 'Gettysburg Address.'

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When watching Steven Spielberg’s dramatic new film “Lincoln,” some University of Louisville music school students might see a familiar face playing the trumpet as part of the U.S. Marine Band during the first 30 minutes.

“It’s a flag-raising ceremony that was filmed in Petersburg, Va., which was the site of a significant battle toward the end of the Civil War,” said music professor Michael Tunnell, who is in the movie along with three other members of an ensemble called the Kentucky Baroque Trumpets. They played with other musicians from the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., region.

In the film, they play the Civil War era piece “We are Coming Father Abraham,” according to an arrangement by film composer John Williams, who worked on “Lincoln.”

Last year, the production team for “Lincoln” contacted Kentucky Baroque Trumpets’ founder, Don Johnson, who has played with many of the Civil War bands in the country and is president of the National Association for Civil War Brass Music.

Johnson, Tunnel and others were ready to go shoot the scene as early as October 2011, but several scheduled shoots were canceled. Then last December, just after attending U of L’s graduation ceremonies, Tunnell and fellow musician Reese Land, a former student who now teaches at Campbellsville University, made the drive to Virginia to get into makeup and begin rehearsing the scene the following morning, with the actual shoot happening a few days later.

Tunnel said he remembers Spielberg listening to the musicians play during a rehearsal and saying “you guys sound great.”

“He actually has us playing in the film,” Tunnel said. “It’s not overdubbed, but it’s us playing Civil War era instruments. Spielberg wanted as authentic a sound as possible.”

The instruments came from a collector of Civil War era instruments.

After learning he was going to be part of the film, Tunnel signed a disclosure agreement and was sworn to secrecy about his involvement.

“My wife knew, of course, but I tried not to tell anyone,” he said.

Last week, Tunnell met up with Spielberg again when they and nearly 9,000 people were in Gettysburg, Pa., for ceremonies to mark the 149th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.” Spielberg was the keynote speaker, and Tunnell and his fellow musicians played.

Tunnell said he gained an appreciation for the film, the director and Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” on which the film is based. He even gained a larger appreciation for mid-19th century instruments.

“At this point I now own a Civil War-era instrument, but I didn’t before the film,” he said.